Could RGK’s new wheelchair take the stress out of flying?

It’s a common enough fear among wheelchair users when flying - handing over your chair to airport staff before boarding so it can be put in the hold, and then praying to all the gods that it doesn’t get damaged or lost in transit. Though I imagine/hope these occurrences are not too common, it is not unknown for someone to reach their destination only for their wheelchair to either be missing in action or damaged.

(photo courtesy of amsvans.com)

When attending the Independent Living Show in Glasgow a couple weeks back, we came across a compact foldable wheelchair from RGK dubbed the Tiga fX. It’s designed to be slender, discreet and easily foldable to the extent that it can be stored in an overhead locker on a plane.

Designed to have the same rigidity as a regular manual wheelchair, it can nonetheless fold up in a few simple moves. “This is a really difficult thing to do with a folding chair” explains Michael Sheen, Operations Manager at RGK wheelchairs in a short promotianl film. “Most folding chairs are inherently quite rattily over time and they don’t give you the same support. So really the biggest challenge for us was to create a rigid frame that folded into the smallest space possible”. The chair weighs a mere 6 Kg and can fit into the boot of a small car as well as an overhead locker. Each chair is bespoke made to measure to suit the individual and their lifestyle with various add-ons or customisations available. The process involves an advisor meeting customers to get to know their needs and life style and ultimately makes for a very personal chair. Consequently the price of each chair is variable but will represent a significant investment the worth of which people will have to determine on an individual basis.

In response to a query on their community blog page the MS Society’s online members were deep in discussion on the subject of suitable lightweight yet sturdy wheelchairs for a 30 year old parent. One member, who owns a Tiga fX, brought it up and acknowledged the serious price tag recognising that “It's not a cheap purchase, but it will give you so much more freedom” expressing how happy he was with it.

TIGA FX folding wheelchair - in more depth from RGK on Vimeo.

If you would like to know more about the Tiga fx, give RGK a call on 01543 670077 (UK phone number) and ask to speak to one of their advisors. You can also email on info@RGKlife.com.

Could RGK’s new wheelchair take the stress out of flying?

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